The Unwritten Account of the Child at the Gate
by HaibaraDaiFan
Summary: A one-shot based on the scene left only to our imaginations where Agasa Hiroshi finds Haibara Ai outside Kudo Shinichi's house.


I was breathing heavily. I could feel the last ounces of strength leaving me. It was right there. Right there. I had come this far. Just to be stopped... by a small lock. My small frame rocked the gate again, putting the last of my energy into it. The gate shoved back what I had pushed into it, and the rain dowsing both me and the cement had caused me to lose my footing.

I smacked the ground, a slight cracking sound registering in some distant part of my mind. I shivered, the rain seeming to grow colder and colder. Onee-chan had died for nothing. I was a failure up until the very end.

I had failed. I had lost my parents. Now my sister. And by some sick and twisted turn of fate, I had my own taste of what freedom might be like. I felt the hope that somehow, someway, I would be free. Just like Onee-chan. And yet, with her last wish in my hands, I was face-down on the ground, beginning to breathe in rain from my small face being so intimate with the cement. I was going to die.

And with those feelings, of despair, of disbelief, of failure, of disappointment, and above all, of grief, I slipped away into unconsciousness.

* * *

"Are you alright?" I awoke to a man's voice. Did I reach the gates of Heaven? Surely Hell would have no concern for such a despicable person as I. Was I being granted a chance to say farewell to my sister?

Baseless thoughts floated through my head as I forced my eyes open, a cough leaving my throat. It took a moment for my vision to clear enough to take in a large living room with tall ceilings. I was lying on a couch, covered in blankets. My eyes rested on the person who had inquired of my well-being.

He had fluffy white hair. And glasses. And round, honest eyes. He was overweight. His eyebrows – gray – were knitted together in... concern. Concern for me.

I was alive. Somehow, I was alive.

"I found you outside in front of the neighbor's house... would you like a drink?" He held out a cup with steam rising from it. Kindness.

Selfless, caring, kindness. My sister's face flashed in my mind, hitting me like a wave assaulting the shore while the winds came rushing over. I swallowed, then nodded, outstretching my hands to take the cup. My tiny hands.

Right. He was being kind to a lost child. I took a sip, feeling extremely vulnerable. I noticed an oversized sleeve hanging off my arm and realized that I was wearing a very large sweater. Not the lab coat from before. Knowing that the reason was purely because I would probably be very sick if left in a drenched coat, I let the thought go.

"I'm Agasa Hiroshi. Can you tell me your name?" He asked gently, his eyes steady. I didn't know what to do. I had taken my only chance to leave. I had no plan, and my mind, overcome with emotion and stress, had only decided the only person on this planet I could go to was Kudo Shinichi. And I failed at that simple task. I couldn't even make it to his house.

At my silence, the old man chuckled slightly, trying to show me that he wasn't angry at my silence.

"Do you like omelet rice?" He asked another question. I failed to respond again, but my silence must've been interpreted as a "yes", since he stood up and went into the kitchen. I could hear the clanking of dishes, though my eyes could only see the breakfast bar and stools from where I was.

What if this man had already reported me to the police? They'd try to search for my relatives. Tell the whole world that I was found. And the minute my face hit the papers, or the television, I was done for. And maybe even...

I could hear him humming some tune to himself, happily preparing food in the next room. I could bring his demise. Just like I had for Onee-chan. Tears began to well up in my eyes, and my grip tightened around the cup in my hands. I forced myself to swallow the liquid quickly, trying to drown out my urge to cry.

I never cried. I wouldn't cry. I was not a human so capable of doing such a thing. I had never felt … safe before. At least, not for as long as I could remember. Something about the warmth of the man in the kitchen and the care he took in taking me into his home made me feel that. Safe. I took a breath.

If I talked or didn't, the outcome would likely remain the same. I had to find an answer logically. If I had turned into a child, and Kudo Shinichi was never confirmed dead, but his children's clothes were missing, that likely meant he met the same fate. I thought maybe if I could find him, I could find out how he had survived without being annihilated by the Organization. I began to think up ways of forcing my way over to Kudo Shinichi's house, though I knew I couldn't just run over there. Even if I managed to disappear from the house without the man knowing, I wasn't able to open the gates. That's assuming I was strong enough to walk myself out the door. It sure didn't feel like it.

My nose crinkled at the sudden smell of something burning – most likely onion – and I could hear the man in the next room mutter something like "oops". A few minutes later, he came into the room, a plate of steaming omelet rice in his hand. He had a sheepish grin on his face.

"Eh, I'm not as good a cook as I am an inventor. I should probably invent something that can cook..." I stared at him, and watched as he placed the plate down on the coffee table beside me. "I hope it's not too terrible." A tiny smile pulled at the corners of my lips. At the sight of me responding, the man gave me a glowing smile.

I ate the omelet rice. It wasn't bad. Not really good, either. Although I should've been thinking on my plan, I just felt empty. The tears that had threatened to fall just a little while earlier were nowhere to be found. A part of me thought that this was the true me – an empty, cold-hearted murderer.

The man left me alone long enough to eat, then collected my dishes and washed them. I began to feel drowsy, but he came back, sitting himself at the edge of the couch. He had a bow tie in his hand.

"See this?" He held it up. I blinked in response. Of course I did. He gave me a mischievous grin. "If I turn this dial, I can..." He began turning a dial where the bow tie would rest against one's neck. He then held it up to his mouth as he finished his sentence. "...sound much younger than I am!" My eyes widened, taken by surprise at the voice I now heard. It was that of a teenage male, and something about it seemed vaguely familiar. "Cool, right?" He held it out for me to take and inspect. Curiosity overtook me and I began to mess with it. I could only really see how to make it work if I spoke into it, though...

"Ah. Ah." I tried, jerking back slightly at the booming male voice that came from it now. He giggled slightly and I felt inclined to join him. I felt that there was something more important about this item than was meeting the eye, but my mind was tired. I held it out, giving it back.

But as he took it into his hands, his demeanor changed. He seemed to be deep in thought, his fingers absentmindedly running over the cloth of the bow tie. Finally, he looked up at me, his face serious. I felt my stomach drop.

"You... want to tell me why you were trying to get into Kudo Shinichi's gate?" My breath caught. I hadn't thought anyone was on that street. It was dark, and the rain was pounding all about. It was so empty, so cold. I couldn't imagine that the man had seen me before I collapsed. The way his eyes searched mine told me that my silence wasn't going to work anymore.

I stared at the red bow tie. I looked back at him. _That was it._ Kudo Shinichi needed a partner. Someone to help him. He could do nothing as a child. The voice that this man had used was Kudo Shinichi's. I remembered. From all of the resources we used to identify him should we cross paths with him before confirming his death. That was his voice.

"I was... looking for him." I said, deciding to come straight out with it. I could tell he meant me no harm. This man helped Kudo Shinichi, too.

"Are you... like him?" Agasa-san asked me carefully. I noticed his eyes look over to the other couch, where my adult-sized lab coat now lay. I swallowed, then nodded. I decided to take yet another chance with the one that my Onee-chan, Miyano Akemi had given me.

"Yes. My name is Miyano Shiho, and I'm a scientist."

* * *

Yeah, so if any of you have read my blog, I had a whole post over this scene, and how it was such an intense thing that we never even heard about. I decided I'd try to take a stab at it, because it was something I have genuinely been interested in. Hope you liked it.

I've been kiiiind of making progress on the other stories, but I write on whim, and only in those spare moments I have. Which is usually titled procrastination.

If you liked it, or have any thoughts on it, leave a review.


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